Major Nuclear Facilities of Iran

Context: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has vowed to rebuild nuclear facilities if attacked, responding to U.S. reports of a possible Israeli strike on key Iranian sites.

Major Nuclear Facilities of Iran

Iran has several major nuclear facilities, primarily involved in uranium enrichment, nuclear research, and power generation. These facilities have been subject to international monitoring and agreements, especially under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the JCPOA (Iran Nuclear Deal). Here are the key ones:

Natanz Nuclear Facility: Uranium enrichment

• Location: Isfahan Province
• Significance: One of Iran’s most important nuclear sites. Houses thousands of centrifuges for uranium enrichment.

Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP): Uranium enrichment

• Location: Near Qom, buried deep inside a mountain.
• Significance: Highly fortified against airstrikes. Originally secret, but revealed by Western intelligence in 2009.

Arak Heavy Water Reactor (IR-40): Plutonium production

• Location: Markazi Province
• Significance: Can produce plutonium, which can be used in nuclear weapons.

Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant: Civilian nuclear energy production

• Location: Southern Iran, near the Persian Gulf
• Significance: Iran’s only operational nuclear power plant. Built with Russian assistance.

Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center (INTC)

• Location: Isfahan
• Purpose: Research and uranium conversion
• Key Facts: Includes a uranium conversion facility (UCF) that produces uranium hexafluoride (UF6), uranium dioxide (UO2), and uranium metal.

Tehran Research Reactor (TRR)

• Location: Tehran
• Purpose: Research and medical isotope production
• Key Facts: A small reactor built with U.S. assistance in the 1960s, mainly used for producing medical radioisotopes.

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